COMMENTARY BY BRAUN: "The magnificent ancient ruins of the splendid buildings give a modest indication of the splendour the city formerly possessed. The Tiber flows into this city from the north and out again towards the south. But what more should I write about so famous a city, in which the successor to St Peter the Apostle and the supreme bishop of the Catholic Church has his seat, where the bones and relics of so many apostles and martyrs are to be seen?"

This engraving of Rome shows the city around 1550 in its imposing setting on seven hills, surrounded by the Aurelian Walls, 19 km long and 6 m high, dating from the 3rd century. Inside the walls on the right are the ruins of Ancient Rome with the Coliseum (37), the arch of Constantine (50), the Forum Romanum (71) and the baths of Caracalla (28) on the far right. The city centre is dominated by the best-preserved work of antique architecture, namely the Pantheon (c. AD 120). In 609, under Pope Boniface VI, the round domed structure was consecrated and dedicated to the Virgin and all the Christian martyrs, and from then on became known as Santa Maria Rotunda. Further right is the Capitoline Hill with Santa Maria in Aracoeli (99) as its summit, and to the left Trajan's column (55). On the near side of the Tiber, the Vatican (left) is dominated by Hadrian's mausoleum, the Castel Sant'Angelo, in front of which appears the old St Peter's, having undergone alterations since 1506. Work on the monumental new basilica and the layout of St Peter's square would be completed as late as the 17th century, however. In the left-hand foreground appears the Papal palace (78) and in front the obelisk (43) that comes from the circus of Caligua and Nero, in which Peter was executed. (Taschen)